1999, Warner Bros. Directed by Brad Bird. Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick Jr. Animated.
Decent Films Ratings
| Overall Recommendability |
?B+ |
|---|---|
| Artistic/ Entertainment Value |
? |
| Moral/Spiritual Value (+4/-4) |
? +2-1 |
| Age Appropriateness |
?Kids & Up* |
External Ratings
| MPAA | ?PG | USCCB | ?A-II |
|---|
Content advisory: Large-scale animated violence; some rough language and profanity.
Buy at Amazon.com
The Iron Giant (DVD)
From a National Catholic Register review
By Steven D. Greydanus
One of the pinnacles of non-Disney American animation, Brad Bird’s The Iron Giant is a nostalgic fantasy in the spirit of E.T. about a young boy (Eli Marienthal) growing up in a fatherless house, whose unusual friendship with a being from outer space — here a giant robot (Vin Diesel) with a penchant for eating metal — has to be hidden from his mom (Jennifer Aniston) and the federal government.
Eschewing song-and-dance numbers and cute animal sidekicks, the film’s appeal comes from its winsome characters, its resonant story, and its evocative sense of time and place — in this case New England in the days of Sputnik and "duck and cover" drills.
Remarkably, despite an action-packed finale, Iron Giant manages an anti-violence message that’s more than mere lip service. Yet young Hogarth’s moralizing is overly glib, not only in attributing a soul to his mechanical friend (which could be excused in a fantasy) but also in applying his "Killing is wrong" lesson to deer hunting (which can’t).
Still, the film’s strengths overshadow these weaknesses, and Iron Giant goes beyond the non-redemptive christological resonances of E.T. (note: spoilers ahead) as the misunderstood, persecuted title character willingly sacrifices himself to save others, then is miraculously reborn.